Where to See Festive Holiday Lights In San Antonio
While Texas may not be the first place you think of when it comes to winter wonderlands, Texans really do go all out when it comes to the world of holiday lights. And San Antonio is one of the top spots in Texas for holiday light displays. In fact, Tripping.com named it one of the “5 Best Places to See Christmas Lights in Texas.”
In addition, Trips to Discover named San Antonio on their list of “Top 10 Christmas Towns in Texas” and Wide Open Country named it on their list of “The 15 Best Christmas Towns in Texas.” Here are some great places to see festive holiday lights in San Antonio.
Alamo Lights– The Alamo- 300 Alamo Plaza- The grounds of The Alamo are decorated and illuminated with festive holiday lights, as is the Christmas tree located in Alamo Plaza. Visitors can enjoy extended hours with The Alamo grounds staying open until 7PM. Alamo Lights runs through January 3, 2022.
A Wonderland Christmas– Morgan’s Wonderland- 5223 David Edwards Drive- Morgan’s Wonderland is the world’s first theme park created for individuals with special needs and their families. A Wonderland Christmas is a winter wonderland featuring Christmas light displays, Christmas tree lighting, complimentary hot cocoa and tasty cookies, exotic petting zoo, holiday shows and performances, simulated ice-skating rink and ultra-accessible pictures with Santa Claus. A Wonderland Christmas runs through December 23, 2021.
Christmas Celebration– SeaWorld- 10500 SeaWorld Drive- SeaWorld transforms into a 250-acre Christmas wonderland for its Christmas Celebration, complete with millions of twinkling lights and holiday trimmings. With over 9 million lights, Christmas Celebration is the largest Christmas lights display in Texas. The park also features jubilant Christmas shows, chef-created, holiday-inspired treats, a festive Christmas parade and yuletide-themed areas. Christmas Celebration runs through January 2, 2022.
Holiday In The Park– Six Flags Fiesta Texas- 17000 IH-10 West- Holiday In The Park is an annual winter event that celebrates all things Christmas. The event features 7 holiday-themed shows, 10 holiday-themed attractions, festive food items, meet-and-greets with Santa Claus, millions of glittering lights and festive decorations. One of the most popular attraction is the Winter Wonderland, a pathway tunnel featuring dazzling Christmas lights and periodic snowfall. Holiday In The Park runs through January 2, 2022.
Holiday Lights On The River Walk– San Antonio River Walk- 849 East Commerce Street- Holiday Lights On The River Walk is a display of 100,000 lights (2,250 strings of lights) that are draped over the towering bald cypress trees that line the downtown portion of the River Walk. This year, there’s another set of Christmas lights on the river, in the Pearl District, added by the San Antonio River Authority. The lights stay on from 5:30PM to 8AM every night of the week. Holiday Lights On The River Walk runs through January 10, 2022.
Lights Alive– National Shooting Complex- 5931 Roft Road- Lights Alive is a 100% computer-controlled, musically synchronized, drive-thru light show experience. The family-friendly immersive light show is synchronized to a one-of-a-kind soundtrack with modern, high-energy, non-traditional remixes and popular, traditional Christmas classics. After finishing the drive-thru experience, visitors can park their vehicle and visit the Park-N-Play Winter Wonderland, an indoor/outdoor pavilion where you can create holiday crafts, enjoy gourmet Christmas confections, experience the Gingerbread Escape Room, take photos with Santa and watch the walk-up Nativity Show. Lights Alive runs through January 2, 2022.
Lightscape– San Antonio Botanical Garden- 555 Funston Place- Lightscape is a family-friendly, illuminated, one-mile walking light display. One of the highlights of Lightscape is the Cathedral of Light, a towering cathedral arch tunnel with 100,000 twinkling lights. Another highlight is the Field of Texas Bluebonnets, thousands of lighted bluebonnets, in varying heights, arranged just like they appear in the fields along the highways in Central Texas. Lightscape, presented by the John R. and Greli N. Less Charitable Trust, runs through January 2, 2022.
Trail of Lights– Elf Acres (A 15-acre Christmas lights, drive-thru venue)- 1475 Grosenbacher Road- Trail of Lights is a one-mile-long drive that features one million lights, animated displays and Christmas music on the Elf Acres radio station. Also, be sure to visit Santa’s Village, a walkable area where you can view a synchronized light show on 3 mega trees, grab some hot cocoa and holiday treats, make a Christmas craft and take a photo with Santa. Trail of Lights runs through January 2, 2022.
Winter Wonderland– Palo Alto College- 1400 West Villaret Boulevard- Winter Wonderland, the largest light display on the South Side, features thousands of lights across an array of large magical light displays throughout the Palo Alto College campus. Winter Wonderland runs through December 23, 2021.
Zoo Lights– San Antonio Zoo- 3903 North St. Mary’s Street- Presented by Whataburger, Zoo Lights is a dazzling array of colorful light displays and festive holiday music. New for 2021 is a 124-foot light tunnel and two 32-foot LED Christmas trees. Popular Zoo Lights Realms include the Lakeside Light Show, a high-energy pixel technology combined with a custom soundtrack of Christmas and Latin songs, Starry Safari, which features a 15-foot-tall light-up giraffe and Water Wonderland, an underwater adventure featuring illuminated jellyfish, mermaids and sea creatures. Zoo Lights runs through January 2, 2022. 
